Johnny Cueto has not delivered on expectations since joining the Kansas City Royals. The Royals traded for the 29-year-old on July 26 and, after briefly performing like an ace, his season descended into chaos. As he gets ready to start Game 2 of the World Series tonight, there is no telling what the Royals can expect.

An eight-year veteran with two top-five finishes in Cy Young voting, Cueto established himself as one of the best pitchers in the National League over the course of the last five seasons. From 2011 to 2014, he started 102 games and his 2.48 E.R.A. was 56 percent better than league average when adjusted for his home park. He averaged more than three strikeouts for every walk and was the winning pitcher in just under 68 percent of his decisions.

Last season he led the National League in starts, innings and strikeouts and among pitchers he was third in the league in Wins Above Replacement behind Clayton Kershaw and Cole Hamels.

This season started well for Cueto, as he had a 2.62 E.R.A. in 19 starts for Cincinnati while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings and allowing fewer than one baserunner per inning. It was enough for Kansas City to part with prized prospect Brandon Finnegan to acquire him.

Cueto’s first four starts for Kansas City went well, but after that he fell apart, with a 6.49 E.R.A. in nine starts. Overall the team went 4-9 in the games he started.

The inconsistency has followed him to the postseason. In the division series against the Houston Astros, he had one strong start and one mediocre start, and then in the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays he was awful, allowing eight earned runs in just two innings of work in Game 3.

The sample-size is still far too small to determine if something is wrong with Cueto in terms of arm problems or adjustments to a new team and league, but finding his form in time to give the Royals a Game 2 lead would go a long way to making the team not regret giving up three young players for a rental who will be a free agent after the series ends.

The Mets will not make it easy by sending out second-year sensation Jacob deGrom to face him. In 55 career starts including the postseason, deGrom has allowed more than three earned runs in a start just seven times.